What Will You Wear?

Enclothed cognition is the idea, simply, that what you wear has an impact on how you feel and behave. So you could feel more confident, more capable and more right for a situation depending on what you wear.

Instinctively it feels like a sound idea to me. Leaving aside safety clothing that would be necessary for some situations, it seems clear that people can influence their feelings of capability by dressing “smarter” or “cooler”. Someone might feel more like they fit in with a group or feel like they belong.

Assuming the theory is true what would you wear for your viva? How do you want to feel? What might help you to feel that way? You don’t need to be smart for your examiners’ expectations but dressing more smartly might help steer your own confidence and capability. Or you might decide on something a little different to help you feel good for those few hours.

How do you want to feel? What might you then need?

(big thanks to my friend Piero Vitelli who I’m pretty certain is the person who shared the term enclothed cognition with me!)